TV GAMES All times Central
Ravens at Texans
Noon, CBS
LINE — Baltimore by 3 ½
LAST MEETING Ravens beat Texans 30-9, Sept. 22, 2013
LAST WEEK Ravens beat Jaguars 20-12; Texans lost to Colts 17-10
RANKINGS Ravens: offense (10), defense (13); Texans: offense (15), defense (24)
NOTES Baltimore QB Joe Flacco threw for 221 yards last week to become first Ravens player to reach 25,000 yards passing (25,024). … Flacco has seven touchdowns with one interception in past five games. … Steve Smith had 37 yards receiving last week to pass Steve Largent for 15th on all-time list with 13,123. … RB Justin Forsett, who spent 2012 with Houston, is fifth in NFL with 1,128 yards rushing. … WR Torrey Smith needs two touchdown catches to become second Ravens player with 10 or more receiving touchdowns in single season. Michael Jackson had 14 in 1996… LB C.J. Mosley, 17th pick in draft, leads rookies with 117 tackles. … LB Terrell Suggs had 2 ½ sacks last week and has 10 ½ in his past nine games. … Houston QB Ryan Fitzpatrick had season-ending surgery Monday after breaking leg last Sunday. Case Keenum or Thad Lewis will get first start of season. … Keenum lost each of his eight starts for Texans last season. … Lewis has made six starts in career. … RB Arian Foster is averaging second-most yards rushing per game in NFL at 102.5. … WR Andre Johnson (996) needs five catches to pass Hines Ward for ninth in NFL. … WR DeAndre Hopkins has 44 receptions for 801 yards in past eight games. … DE J.J. Watt needs 3 ½ sacks to become first NFL player with two seasons with at least 20 sacks. … Watt has five touchdowns this season, including three receiving scores.
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Falcons at Saints
Noon, Fox
LINE — Saints by 6 1/2
LAST MEETING Falcons beat Saints 37-34, OT, Sept. 7, 2014
LAST WEEK Falcons lost to Steelers 27-20; Saints beat Bears 31-15
RANKINGS Falcons: offense (7), defense (32); Saints: offense (2), defense (31)
NOTES Atlanta must win to avoid elimination from NFC South. … Atlanta is 4-13 vs. New Orleans since 2006, when Sean Payton became Saints coach and Drew Brees became Saints QB. … Game features top two passing offenses in NFC with Saints passing for 301.8 yards per game and Falcons passing for 286.1. … Falcons QB Matt Ryan completed 31 of 43 (72.1 percent) for 448 yards with three TDs and no interceptions in Week 1 victory over Saints. … WR Julio Jones had seven catches for 116 yards receiving in last meeting. … In his past two games, Jones has 21 catches for 448 yards and two TDs, but did not play last week because of hip injury. … CB Robert McClain had interception in last meeting. … S Kemal Ishmael leads team with four interceptions. … Saints have lost four consecutive at home. … New Orleans QB Drew Brees has won seven of eight starts at home vs. Atlanta. … Last week, Brees completed 29 of 36 passes (80.6 percent) for 375 yards with three TDs and no interceptions. … Brees has 4,358 yards passing, marking his NFL-record ninth consecutive 4,000-yard season. … RB Mark Ingram had TD last week and needs 131 yards rushing for first career 1,000-yard season. … RB Pierre Thomas had five catches for 83 yards last week. … . TE Josh Hill had two TDs last week. … WR Kenny Stills is second on team with 781 yards receiving, behind TE Jimmy Graham, who has 782. … LB Junior Galette has 15 sacks in past 18 games, including two sacks and a forced fumble last week. … Recently acquired S Pierre Warren had two interceptions last week.
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Colts at Cowboys
3:25 p.m., CBS
LINE — Cowboys by 1
LAST MEETING Cowboys beat Colts 38-35 in OT, Nov. 27, 2010
LAST WEEK Colts beat Texans 17-10; Cowboys beat Eagles 38-27
RANKINGS Colts: offense (3), defense (15); Cowboys: offense (9), defense (22)
NOTES Indianapolis Coach Chuck Pagano can join Jim Harbaugh (2011-13) as only coaches to win at least 11 games in first three seasons with team. … QB Andrew Luck’s 12,688 yards passing most of any Super Bowl-era quarterback in first three seasons. He and Seattle’s Russell Wilson are only Super Bowl-era QBs to lead teams to at least 10 wins each of first three seasons. … Luck needs two TD passes to become eighth player with at least 40 in a season. … WR T.Y. Hilton has six 100-yard games in past 11, with TDs in three of past four. Needs 55 yards to join Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne as only Indy receivers with at least 1,400 yards in a season. … WR Hakeem Nicks has 664 yards receiving and four touchdowns in eight games against Dallas, all with New York Giants. … LB D’Qwell Jackson leads AFC with 120 tackles, and S Mike Adams leads NFL with seven takeaways (five interceptions, two fumbles). … Dallas is 3-0 against AFC South this season. … Jason Garrett can tie Barry Switzer for third among Dallas coaches with 40 victories. Tom Landry had 250, Jimmy Johnson 44. … QB Tony Romo needs 190 yards passing to break Troy Aikman’s franchise record of 32,942. Romo has 112.3 rating in past eight games against AFC (17 TDs, two interceptions). … RB DeMarco Murray, whose status is in question with broken left hand, has league-leading 1,687 yards rushing and needs 87 to break NFL rushing leader Emmitt Smith’s franchise record of 1,773. Murray tied with Smith with franchise-record 11 100-yard games. … WR Dez Bryant had three TDs receiving against Philadelphia for league-high 13, tying career high from last season. … CB Orlando Scandrick, who had clinching interception two weeks ago against Chicago, had 40-yard interception return for score in previous meeting with Colts. … DE Jeremy Mincey had two sacks last week against Eagles. He had six sacks in nine games against Indy when he was with Jacksonville.
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Seahawks at Cardinals
7:30 p.m., NBC
LINE — Seahawks by 7½
LAST MEETING Seahawks beat Cardinals 19-3, Nov. 23, 2014
LAST WEEK Seahawks beat 49ers 17-7, Cardinals beat Rams 12-6
RANKINGS Seahawks: offense (11), defense (1); Cardinals: offense (24), defense (14)
NOTES Seattle leads NFL in fewest first downs allowed per game (17.5). … Seattle one of two teams to win at Arizona since Bruce Arians became Cardinals coach. … Seahawks are 4-3 on road. …In past four games, Seattle has allowed 27 points (6.8 per game), 752 yards (188 per game) and had 16 sacks. … Seahawks are 12-1 in prime time games under Pete Carroll. … Arizona is undefeated at home this season. … Arizona defense has scored NFL-best nine touchdowns (seven interception returns, two fumbles). … Ryan Lindley fourth QB to play for Arizona this season. … Lindley started four games as Arizona rookie in 2012, throwing for 752 yards, with no touchdowns and seven interceptions. He didn’t play as Arizona’s No. 3 QB last season. … Cardinals never have won 12 games in season. … Arizona had two best rushing games of season in past two games — 143 yards against St. Louis, 141 against Kansas City. … WR Larry Fitzgerald one TD shy of becoming 10th NFL player with 90 touchdown receptions.
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Chiefs at Steelers
Noon
LINE — Steelers by 3
LAST MEETING Steelers beat Chiefs 16-13, OT, Nov. 12, 2012.
LAST WEEK Chiefs beat Raiders 31-13; Steelers beat Falcons 27-20
RANKINGS Chiefs: offense (22), defense (8); Steelers: offense (1), defense (19)
NOTES Kansas City ended three-game losing streak with victory over Raiders last week. … Steelers have won six of eight and can clinch first playoff berth since 2011 with victory. … Pittsburgh has won three of last four against Kansas City. … Chiefs last won in Pittsburgh on Dec. 21, 1986. … Kansas City RB Jamaal Charles is tied for league lead with 14 touchdowns. … Chiefs LB Justin Houston’s 17 sacks are tied with Elvis Dumervil for most in NFL. … Kansas City has allowed just two rushing touchdowns all season. No other team has allowed less than five. … Kansas City leads NFL in point differential in fourth quarter (plus-66). … Chiefs Coach Andy Reid is 2-2 against Steelers. … Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Todd Haley coached Chiefs from 2009-2011, going 19-26 in two-plus seasons. … Steelers have NFL’s top-ranked offense. Franchise has finished first in total yardage just once (1979), when it won championship. … Pittsburgh has won five consecutive in December. … Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger needs two touchdown passes to become 17th NFL player to reach 250 career scoring tosses. … Steelers WR Antonio Brown needs 2 yards receiving to break club single-season mark he set last year (1,499). … Brown leads NFL in receptions (115), yards receiving (1,498) and games of 10-plus receptions (four). … Roethlisberger, Brown and RB Le’Veon Bell are second QB/WR/RB trio in NFL with 4,400 yards passing, 1,400 yards receiving and 1,200 yards rushing. Peyton Manning, Rodney Harrison and Edgerrin James did it for Colts in 2000.
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Browns at Panthers
Noon
LINE — Panthers by 3 1/2
LAST MEETING Browns beat Panthers 24-23, Nov. 28, 2010
LAST WEEK Browns lost to Bengals 30-0; Panthers beat Buccaneers 19-17
RANKINGS Browns: offense (20), defense (21); Panthers: offense (16), defense (16)
NOTES Cleveland QB Johnny Manziel makes second career start. Manziel was 14th rookie quarterback to start for Browns. … Browns have 16 touchdowns rushing, tied for third most in NFL. … Browns are third in the NFL in takeaways with 27. … DB Tashaun Gipson has six interceptions, tied for most in NFL, but has missed three games with knee injury. … Browns are only NFL team with two rookies with 500-plus yards rushing with Terrance West (579) and Isaiah Crowell (546). … WR Josh Gordon has 1,904 yards receiving in last 18 games, but has struggled since returning from 10-game suspension. … LB Paul Kruger leads Browns with 10 sacks. … Carolina quarterback Derek Anderson is 2-0 as starter; Cam Newton is 3-8-1. … Anderson has NFL’s best QB rating (119.3) in fourth quarter, but if Newton is recovered from back injury after car crash, he’ll play. … Panthers are 28th in NFL in red zone offense. … TE Greg Olsen has 20 receptions in last two games. Olsen needs 40 yards receiving for first 1,000-yard season. … RB Jonathan Stewart has run for 313 yards and TD in last three games. … WR Kelvin Benjamin is second among rookies with 952 yards receiving. … DE Mario Addison is tied for team lead with career-high 6 1-2 sacks. … Panthers are 0-2-1 vs. AFC North this year.
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Lions at Bears
Noon
LINE — Detroit by 4½
LAST MEETING Lions beat Bears 34-17, Nov. 27, 2014
LAST WEEK Lions beat Vikings 16-14; Bears lost to Saints 31-15
RANKINGS Lions: offense (17), defense (2); Bears: offense (18), defense (30)
NOTES Detroit has chance to clinch second playoff spot in 15 years, first division title since 1993. Lions capture NFC North with victory plus Green Bay loss. Would secure first-round bye with victory if both Packers, Dallas lose. … Lions clinch playoff spot in one of three scenarios: Detroit victory; Detroit tie plus Philadelphia loss or tie; Philadelphia loss. … Detroit with three consecutive victories. … Lions haven’t won more than 10 in season since going 12-4 in 1991. … Lions have allowed fewest points in NFL, 238. … Lions visit Green Bay next week. … Detroit, with at least one interception in 11 games in a row, has longest streak for Lions in single season since 1981 (13). Also longest active streak in NFL. … QB Matthew Stafford threw for 390 yards, two TDs against Bears on Thanksgiving. Needs 203 yards to hit 4,000 mark for fourth straight year. … WR Calvin Johnson with 935 yards closing in on fifth consecutive 1,000-yard season. … DT Ndamukong Suh has six sacks in nine games against Chicago. … Chicago has allowed league-high 409 points. … Chicago to start QB Jimmy Clausen over Jay Cutler. Clausen 1-9 in 10 starts with Carolina as rookie in 2010. He’s appeared in three games, attempted nine passes this season. … DE Willie Young with 10 sacks in first season with Chicago; he had six with Detroit from 2010 to 2014. … Martellus Bennett tied for the NFL lead among TEs with 81 receptions, third with 857 yards receiving.
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Vikings at Dolphins
Noon
LINE — Dolphins by 7
LAST MEETING Dolphins beat Vikings 14-10, Sept. 19, 2010
LAST WEEK Dolphins lost at Patriots 41-13; Vikings lost at Lions 16-14
RANKINGS Vikings: offense (28), defense (11T); Dolphins: offense (19), defense (7)
NOTES Minnesota hasn’t won in Miami since 1976. … Teddy Bridgewater will make 11th start, passing Fran Tarkenton and Christian Ponder for most by Vikings rookie QB. … Minnesota LB Anthony Barr tied for second in NFL with three fumble recoveries. … S Harrison Smith only player in NFL with at least three interceptions and three sacks. … DE Everson Griffen has career-high 12 sacks. … Blair Walsh ranks last in NFL with field-goal rate of 71.0 percent (22 for 31). He has missed five field goals in past two games. … Vikings have six Florida natives on active roster. … Miami has been outscored 69-26 in past two weeks. They’ve scored three TDs in past three weeks. … Dolphins are allowing 4.94 yards per play on first down, fifth worst in NFL. … Ryan Tannehill needs 6 yards rushing to break franchise season record for quarterback of 321, set by Jay Fiedler in 2001. … Rookie Jarvis Landry third in NFL with kickoff return average of 29.7. … Dolphins long snapper John Denney will play 160th consecutive game, extending franchise record. … Fitting for .500 team: Dolphins have scored 34 touchdowns and allowed 34. … Former defensive tackle Manny Fernandez will be inducted into Dolphins Honor Roll at halftime.
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Patriots at Jets
Noon
LINE — Patriots by 11.
LAST MEETING Patriots beat Jets 27-25, Oct. 16, 2014
LAST WEEK Patriots beat Dolphins 41-13; Jets beat Titans 16-11
RANKINGS Patriots: offense (8), defense (17); Jets: offense (25), defense (6)
NOTES New England, which has won nine of past 10 meetings, can clinch first-round bye in playoffs with victory. Can also clinch home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with victory and Denver loss to Cincinnati. … Patriots won AFC East for sixth consecutive season and became first NFL team to win 11 division titles in 12-year span. … Bill Belichick’s 12 overall division titles are most by coach since 1970 merger, one more than Don Shula. Belichick tied with Curly Lambeau for fourth place in overall NFL victories with 229. … In past six games vs. Jets, Tom Brady has 12 TDs and just 1 interception. Brady holds 19-5 regular-season record — 20-6 overall — as starter vs. Jets. Became fifth player in NFL history to reach 4,500 completions (4,520) last week. … Rob Gronkowski leads NFL TEs with 1,093 yards receiving, and needs 107 to join Tony Gonzalez and Jimmy Graham as only TEs with two 1,200-yard receiving seasons. Since entering NFL in 2010, Gronkowski leads AFC with 53 TD catches. … Patriots won last meeting when Chris Jones blocked Nick Folk’s 58-yard field goal attempt on game’s final play. … New England has shut out opponents in second half of past two games, and outscored opponents 54-6 in final two quarters over past four games. Last TD given up by defense in second half came against Indianapolis on Nov. 16. … K Stephen Gostkowski became Patriots’ leader in points last week with 1,165, passing Adam Vinatieri. … Game marks home finale for New York, and could be final game at home for Coach Rex Ryan, who could be fired after season. Ryan has 49-51 overall record, including playoffs, as coach of Jets and could finish at .500 with victories in final two games. Bill Parcells (30-20) and Al Groh (9-7) only Jets coaches with .500 records or better. … Geno Smith has passed for 459 yards and two TDs with 1 interception in past two vs. Patriots. Also has rushed for 69 yards and 1 TD during that span. Smith’s seven rushing TDs since start of last season tied with Colts’ Andrew Luck for most among AFC QBs in that span. … RB Chris Ivory has team-leading 739 yards rushing, and needs 95 to set single-season career high. … WR Eric Decker had season-high 100 yards receiving on seven catches last week. … Jace Amaro leads NFL rookie TEs in catches (35) and yards receiving (311). … LB David Harris two tackles away from 1,000 for career.
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Packers at Buccaneers
Noon
LINE — Packers by 10
LAST MEETING Packers beat Buccaneers 35-26, Nov. 20, 2011
LAST WEEK Packers lost to Bills 21-13; Buccaneers lost to Panthers 19-17
RANKINGS Packers: offense (6), defense (23); Buccaneers: offense (30), defense (25)
NOTES Despite last week’s loss to Buffalo, Green Bay is one of five teams still in contention for home-field advantage through NFC playoffs. … Packers are NFL’s second-highest scoring team with NFC-best 436 points. Held to 13 by Bills after averaging 40 during five-game winning streak. … Green Bay WR Jordy Nelson is tied for second in league with 12 touchdown receptions. He combines with WR Randall Cobb and RB Eddie Lacy to give Packers first trio of teammates with 10-plus TDs in same season. … Lacy has 100-plus yards from scrimmage in seven consecutive games, amassing 881 yards and scoring eight TDs — four rushing and four receiving — during stretch. … Tampa Bay has NFC’s worst record and will miss playoffs for seventh consecutive season. … Bucs RB Doug Martin rushed for season-best 96 yards last week, including 63-yard burst. But lack of consistent running game is one of Tampa Bay’s biggest problems. … In two career games vs. Packers, WR Vincent Jackson has 13 catches for 239 yards, four TDs, including seven-catch, 141-yard, three-TD performance with San Diego in 2011. … Tampa Bay WR Mike Evans leads NFL rookies with 11 TDs receiving, nine in past seven games. He’s third with 948 yards receiving. … Bucs have lost four straight, turning over ball 11 times during skid. Philadelphia (34) is only team in league with more giveaways than Tampa Bay’s 31.
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Giants at Rams
3:05 p.m.
LINE — Rams by 6
LAST MEETING Giants beat Rams 28-16, Sept. 19, 2011
LAST WEEK Giants beat Redskins 24-13; Rams lost to Cardinals 12-6
RANKINGS Giants: offense (14), defense (26); Rams: offense (26), defense (11)
NOTES Late surge has not added clarity to future of New York Coach Tom Coughlin, who has one year left on contract. Earlier in week, Coughlin said topic had not been discussed with management. … Giants have won five consecutive in series after losing five consecutive. … Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. caught 12 passes for 143 yards and three TDs last week. Beckham has 71 catches for franchise rookie-record 972 yards despite missing first four games with hamstring injury. Beckham has nine TD catches, needing one to match franchise rookie record set by Bill Swiacki in 1948. … RB Rashad Jennings (ankle) had one carry last week and is uncertain for this week. … St. Louis haven’t allowed TD in three consecutive games, franchise record, and 12-quarter streak without allowing TD matches franchise record set in 1939. … Rams finish at Seattle and need to win final two games to avoid 11th consecutive losing season. They’ve won seven games each of Coach Jeff Fisher’s first two seasons. … Rams held to 69 yards rushing on 20 carries last week. … Rams WR Stedman Bailey had five catches for 74 yards against Arizona. … MLB James Laurinaitis leads team with 146 tackles, two ahead of OLB Alec Ogletree. As rookie last year, Ogletree ended Laurinaitis’ four-year run as team leader.
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Bills at Raiders
3:25 p.m.
LINE — Bills by 5 1/2
LAST MEETING Bills beat Raiders 38-35, Sept. 18, 2011
LAST WEEK Bills beat Packers 21-13; Raiders lost to Chiefs 31-13
RANKINGS Bills: offense (23), defense (5); Raiders: offense (32), defense (18)
NOTES Buffalo won last two meetings with go-ahead scores in final seconds in 2011 and 2008. … Buffalo has lost last seven games in Oakland since winning in 1966. … Bills stand second in NFL with 30 takeaways. … With victory, Bills would have first winning season since 2004. … Buffalo QB Kyle Orton lost past four starts vs. Oakland but threw for at least 300 yards in past two meetings. … Bills lead NFL with 49 sacks and are only team with three players (Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus, Jerry Hughes) with at least nine. … Buffalo has seven interceptions and no TD passes allowed in past four games. … Bills allowed 2.8 yards per carry and no touchdowns rushing first six games; 5.0 per carry and 10 TDs rushing past eight games. … Oakland rookie QB Derek Carr needs 102 yards passing to reach 3,000 for season. … Oakland’s Mychal Rivera ranks second among all TEs with 42 catches since start of Week 7. … Raiders have scored seven TDs and allowed one in final two minutes of game; have 17 and allowed 42 in first 58 minutes. …Oakland S Charles Woodson needs one interception to become 11th player with 60 in career.